Tuesday 14 February 2012 18.43 EST
First published on Tuesday 14 February 2012 18.43 EST

David Cameron will signal support for putting a minimum price on alcohol, using a visit to a hospital in the north-east to warn that excess consumption of alcohol costs the NHS £2.7bn a year.

A government strategy on alcohol is due to be published shortly, after nearly a year of consultation with the drinks industry and health experts.

Some regional strategies have discussed setting minimum prices as a disincentive to consumption. A minimum of 50p per unit has been proposed on Merseyside. Details of how the plan would work in practice have not been agreed, but are being proposed by the Liverpool city region Child Poverty and Life Chances Commission which represents the five councils and associated bodies.

Scotland has gone furthest on pricing, but has yet to impose a minimum price as it has to seek European Union approval. And Westminister's public health minister, Ann Milton, has queried whether setting a minimum price would be legal or could be upheld, since it was likely to contravene EU free trade legislation.

Cameron will on Wednesday say alcohol abuse costs A&E services £1bn out of the £2.7bn a year. The wider cost to society is put at £17bn to £22bn per annum. Patients with acute intoxification have more than doubled to 18,500 since 2002/03.

He will say: "Every night, in town centres, hospitals and police stations across the country, people have to cope with the consequences of alcohol abuse. And the problem is getting worse. Over the last decade we've seen a frightening growth in the number of people – many under-age – who think it's acceptable for people to get drunk in public in ways that wreck lives, spread fear, and increase crime.

"This is one of the scandals of our society and I am determined to deal with it. As figures today show the NHS is having to pick up an ever-growing bill – £2.7bn a year, including £1bn on accident and emergency services alone. That's money we have to spend because of the reckless behaviour of an irresponsible minority.

"Across the country, local hospitals, ambulance crews and the police are rising to the challenge. We must help them to do so and will be setting out how through the forthcoming alcohol strategy. Whether it's the police officers in A&E that have been deployed in some hospitals, the booze buses in Soho and Norwich, or the "drunk tanks" (cells for people who become intoxicated) used abroad, we need innovative solutions to confront the rising tide of unacceptable behaviour."

Cameron, instinctively opposed to public health laws and fresh regulation, is said to be edging towards a minimum price despite hostility of the drinks industry and supermarkets. He will say: "This isn't just about more rules and regulation. It's about responsibility and a sense of respect for others. This is an area where the drinks industry, supermarkets, pubs and clubs need to work with government so that responsible drinking becomes a reality and not just a slogan."

The public health minister, Ann Milton, has queried whether a UK minimum price would be legal. Last October she told Westminster's science and technology committee last October that minimum pricing legislation was likely to contravene European free trade legislation: "Our advice is that, in itself, it is probably illegal, as it contravenes European free trade legislation. I know Scotland is thinking about introducing it, and they will be challenged, and that will clarify the law. But our advice is that it is illegal. I think we have to be very careful about penalising the majority because of the minority."

National, regional and local statistics compiled by the North West Public Health Observatory show there were 1.17m alcohol related admissions in 2010/11 across Britain, up from 1.05m in 2009/10, and more than twice the number in 2002/3.